Salukis look to double down on wins in Vegas

SIU faces San Diego and San Francisco in Sin City weekend

By Jason Maholy

Seven games into the Southern Illinois Salukis’ 2009-10 season, just how good – or not good – this team is remains unknown.

SIU (5-2) is in Las Vegas this weekend, the team’s second trip to Sin City this season, for games against San Diego (5-6) and San Francisco (3-7) of the West Coast Conference. Both teams are under .500, like all four Division I teams the Dawgs have beaten with relative ease, yet should provide more of a challenge than the likes of Tennesee-Martin or Southeast Missouri State – both of which may be among this season’s worst 20 of the NCAA’s 300 DI programs .

The lack of quality opponents is the reason these Salukis are difficult to assess. We know they can dominate lesser competition: In their four wins against DI teams – which have a combined record of 7-25 – SIU is scoring 83.2 points per game while holding opponents to 63.7. Sophomore forward Anthony Booker and sophomore center Nick Evans have looked like studs against these smaller, less athletic and generally overmatched teams; however, have looked very ordinary in the Salukis two losses to UNLV (8-1) and Saint Louis (6-3).

Then again, the team as a whole has looked rather ordinary against the better competition. In contrast to their nearly wire-to-wire dominance of weaker teams, the Salukis struggled to play a solid 40 minutes in both of their road losses to the Runnin’ Rebels and Billikins. SIU led both games at halftime and played encouragingly well for stretches, including beginning the UNLV game with an 18-6 run that undoubtedly had Saluki fans salivating and having visions of the days of Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young, but this relatively young squad that started three sophomores in each of those contests fell apart both times in the second halves. The Dawgs were woeful offensively in both games, averaging just 65 points and shooting 34.7 percent from the field and a miserable 18.4 percent (9-49) from 3-point range.

It is understandable why SIU head coach Chris Lowery put together a rather cupcake-ish non-conference schedule. Last season’s squad finished 13-18 while turning in the program’s first losing season since 1998-99 and ending a string of seven consecutive postseason appearances. Lowery wasn’t about to overschedule again and risk damaging his players’ psyches.

The Dawgs may not have been challenged much in their victories this season, although Illinois-Chicago did play them close for 30 minutes, but the contests have provided a valuable means for this team to confront and overcome its own challenges. The overmatched competition should help build Southern’s confidence and give the players time to improve, gel as a unit and settle into their roles before the start of the Missouri Valley slate. That’s what this team is preparing for, and where they will have to excel if they are to win an outright conference crown, or better yet take the title at Arch Madness and earn a bid to the Big Dance for the first time in three seasons.

This team has shown flashes that it may, come spring, contend with the likes of Northern Iowa, Illinois State and Creighton for that automatic NCAA berth. Sophomore guard Kevin Dillard is averaging 15.4 points per game, good for fifth in the conference, and 5.3 assists to lead all MVC players. His shooting hasn’t been as good as expected, but he has excelled at running the offense and improved at all other aspects of his game, and has already recorded two points-assists double-doubles. Coming into this season that feat had been accomplished just six times in the program’s history.

Tony Freeman, the team’s lone senior, also appears to be settling into his role as a go-to scorer and leader on and off the floor. After an inauspicious start to the season and suffering an injury that sidelined him for the Saint Louis game, Freeman has come on strong, hitting 10-of-17 shots from 3-point range and scoring 38 points in the past two games combined. He is averaging 13.4 points on the season, good for second on the team. His steadiness at both ends of the floor will be essential for this team to pull out tight games during the conference slate.

The team’s front-court play is also a reason for optimism. Junior forward Carlton Fay is averaging 11.9 points and 4.6 boards per game, and though inconsistent at times has shown he can be a game-changing shooter who can carry a team. He started the season coming off the bench but has started the past two games, giving the Salukis four starters averaging double figures in points. Evans has provided a big boost as well. The 6-11 redshirt sophomore who plays with a frenetic energy is averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 65 percent from the field. In his past two games he is averaging 14.5 points and if he can continue to improve as a low-post threat will help open up the perimeter for guys like Dillard, Freeman and Fay. He has also matured as a defender and has for the most part avoided the foul trouble that plagued him during his freshman campaign.

The wild card of this group is Booker, who was unimpressive the first five games but has looked like a different player since being replaced by Fay in the starting lineup. He scored just seven points combined against UNLV, Saint Louis and UIC, in part because of a hip injury that limited his minutes and effectiveness, but he followed those games with a 10-point, 11-rebound, four-block performance against SEMO and 12 points and seven boards versus Alabama State. His development as the team's top front court reserve will be a key to this team succeeding in the grueling 18-game MVC schedule, but he has yet to prove he can be an impact player against quality opponents.